Pains and Grumps for Gramps

I'm pretty well an even keel sort of guy. I don't usually get too high or too low. I don't do grumpy very often, and often when I do, I realize that I am just plain tuckered out, and a little rest will help a lot.

But I got kind of grumpy for awhile the other morning. The accumulation of little ailments was getting on my nerves.

I had gone out to coffee with a friend, but the place was very noisy, which makes it kind of difficult for a guy with hearing aids. Sometimes, you just pick up too much background noise and too little of what you really want to hear. Hearing aids are better than they used to be for this, but they weren't cutting it on that morning.

Later I found myself kind of hobbling across a parking lot to the grocery store. My right foot with missing cartilage plus bone chips can be aggravating, but sometimes it's worse than others. I had been to exercise class on the previous day, and some of the push off movements seemed to aggravate the condition. I really want to do this class, and the thought that I might have to quit quite provoked me.

Then there is the shoulder, the right one, which is getting more problematic. I tried to make a big turn with the steering wheel, and Ouch! I can barely sleep on my right side anymore, and I am a side sleeper — when I sleep, that is. And then I tried to back out of a parking space, but my neck mightily resisted the necessary swivelling which used to be so easy.

There are too many other things that I've had to give up, like cycling (more or less anyway). And there was fiddling, which I enjoyed but fingers and shoulders ended that activity prematurely. Back longer ago, tennis was brought to a halt by back problems. Even further in the past when I was still youngish, jogging was  kiboshed due to plantar fasciitis. Lately, even walking with that sore foot is not exactly a picnic, and walking is supposed to be a basic thing that most people can do.

Now, I know that this all sounds like a pity party, but I'm just listing things (and I didn't even get to my knees), some of which also got me down a bit that morning.

But being grumpy is no fun for anybody, so I managed to talk myself out of it in fairly short order.

After all, at 71 as far as I know, other than hearing loss and osteoarthritis, I am relatively healthy. Yeah, the osteo limits me, but I think I can push on for the most part. I can still amble around the neighbourhood even if I am not exactly zippy. I also think I can continue exercise class although I may have to modify some of the movements, like some of the sidestepping  because I find it takes a lot to push off with that bad ankle.

This seniors exercise class that we attend is actually quite good. It's surprising how much of a workout you can get just more or less staying on the spot and keeping your arms and legs moving. In fact, I work up quite a sweat.

I have found a somewhat similar workout on YT. It's not as long or as vigourous as what we do in class but it's not a bad start, and it lasts for about 15 minutes which is a good basic length of time for a bit of a cardio workout. It is supposedly equivalent to walking a mile and at a decent pace too.

Here it is, just for the record.